Dalefield aren't letting their underdog tag faze them as they prepare for their Wellington premier division women's hockey semi-final match with top qualifiers Eastern Hutt at the National Hockey Stadium in Wellington tomorrow.
In fact, Dalefield coach Nigel Goodin says his team are looking forward to squaring off against an Eastern Hutt side which has already beaten them three times this season and are the warm favourites for the premier division title.
"We know just about everyone will be expecting us to be on the end of a decent beating again and that's fine with us," Goodin said.
"We also know that the whole season comes down to this one game and that everything that has gone on beforehand counts for nothing."
Tomorrow's game will, in fact, be the third time Dalefield has played Eastern Hutt in the past 11 days and while Goodin has huge respect for them he believes there are enough problem areas in their game to give Dalefield at least an outside chance of upsetting them.
"They are definitely not unbeatable and if we play well we can certainly give them a fright," he said.
Goodin said Dalefield won't be going into the semi-final in anything other than a positive frame of mind.
They would be aiming to place the emphasis on attack with the idea of imposing themselves on Eastern Hutt, both physically and mentally.
"We won't be overawed or intimidated, we'll go out there and throw everything we've got at them," he said. "A finals spot is at stake and we want to come away knowing we gave it everything we possibly could."
Spearheading the Dalefield attack will be sisters Ana-May Playle and Janeen Bruce, both of whom have the experience to cope with the pressure of any occasion, and big things will also be expected from Libby Noema, who has already scored a number of spectacular goals this season.
On defence it is Amanda Pottinger who will take a leading role, along with goalkeeper Liana Johnson, who just turned 15 this week and will find herself confronted by some of the best attacking talent in the country.
For coach Goodin, however, it isn't any particular individual who needs to shine but everybody in the squad. "You can't win a game like this if anybody is having an off day," he said.
A likely starting line-up for Dalefield is:
Liana Johnson, Alice Davies, Amanda Pottinger, Georgia Burton, Leah Kershaw, Norma Stein, Janeen Bruce, Brooke Taylor, Libby Noema, Ana-May Playle, Jade Foreman.
